Week in Review

People fear the IRS. (Oh, by the way, happy tax day.) The IRS targeting of conservative groups to silence the opposition has been chilling to say the least. But the tax code is so convoluted that it takes an army of accountants and tax lawyers to comply. Easy for the big corporations. But a nightmare for small business. For complying is costly. And tax audits are about as enjoyable as a colonoscopy the hard way. Without anesthetic. Creating a great disincentive for people to become small business owners. Which hurts us all. For small businesses are the number one job creator in the country.

So a simpler and friendlier tax code would go a long way to create economic growth. And an IRS less like the Gestapo or KGB would make a lot of small business owners sleep easier at night. And encourage more people to take the plunge and start a small business. A majority of people polled in a NAM poll agree. And believe the time for serious tax reform is now (see New NAM Poll Says Voters Want Candidates Who Support a Simpler Tax Code posted 4/14/2014 on National Association of Manufacturers).

•Over 76 percent of voters will be more likely to favor a candidate who supports comprehensive tax reform.

•Nearly 73 percent of respondents support comprehensive reform to make the tax code simpler and fairer, even if their personal tax burden remains the same.

•An overwhelming majority, 85 percent, believe it is important that Congress and the President put aside partisanship to enact comprehensive tax reform.

We know why the Democrats don’t want to reform the tax code. For having that power did wonders to silence the opposition during the 2012 presidential campaign. Allowing President Obama to win reelection with 4 dead Americans in Benghazi. And having the worst economic recovery since that following the Great Depression. So when their only campaign strategy is to attack and intimidate the opposition because their policies have failed it comes in handy to have a political force at your disposal to put the fear of God into your opponents. Especially when you can place that political force above the law. Which it apparently is based on no one being punished for said targeting of conservative groups.

But the people may be tiring of the same failed Democrat policies. It’s been over 5 years and the economy is still horrible. Some 10 million people have left the labor force since President Obama took office. If you add these people to those the BLS counts as unemployed the unemployment rate (at the end of February) would be 13.7%. Not 6.7% as officially reported. So there is a lot of dissatisfaction out there. At least among those who want a job. And those who do and are paying ever more taxes with nothing to show for it. So they may vote for the candidate promising tax reform this fall. Even if it means voting Republican. As the oppressive IRS is now forever tied to the Democrat Party thanks to their targeting of conservative groups.

Fundamental Truth

Thomas Jefferson wanted to keep the New Federal Government and Money Apart

Thomas Jefferson did not trust government. And he didn’t trust moneyed men. Because when the two come together they cause nothing but trouble. That’s why he hated and distrusted Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton wanted a strong central government. A central bank. And an economic system favoring merchants and bankers. With big city moneyed men financing the government in return for special favors.

This is why the nation’s capital isn’t in New York City. It once was. But one of the first deals the Hamilton and Jefferson camps made was the relocation of the nation’s capital to a mosquito-infested swamp on the Potomac River. A long, long way from the moneyed men in New York City. To try to keep the new federal government and money apart. To restrict the influence of the moneyed men on the government. And to prevent the government from having easy access to big money.

Why did Jefferson want to do this? Well, they fought for their independence from Great Britain. Which was a constitutional monarchy. Where some in Parliament were no friends of British America. And got the king to agree with them rather than the pro-British America faction in Parliament. Ironically, the Americans got help in their War of Independence from France. Which had an absolute monarchy. Whose king ruled with no check on his power. Both governments were in the big cities. London. And Paris. Where the moneyed men were. In the big cities. Allowing these monarchies to do a whole lot of mischief all around the world. And a fair amount of mischief inside their own countries. Because the money and the government were in the same city.

Government + Money = Corruption

Great Britain and France were forever at war with each other. And with other countries. Requiring a lot of money. Which they got from the moneyed men. In return for special privileges that allowed them to get ever richer. Of course the mischief grew greater as they fought a world war or two. Requiring ever more money. Which they got from, of course, taxing the rest of the people. Even those who could little afford it. And once this starts, once the government starts accumulating debt, that taxation will only get greater.

This is what Jefferson was worried about. And why he so distrusted Hamilton. The Founding Fathers were all gentlemen of the Enlightenment. Disinterested public servants. Honorable men who would never take advantage of their position in government for personal gain. Because for these men honor was everything. Some even fought duels to protect their honor. As Hamilton did. And died. Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Jay and Franklin were men of exceptional integrity. Men who could be trusted. But here is where Hamilton and Jefferson differed. Hamilton believed only men like them would ever enter government. While Jefferson believed that government service would one day attract mostly scoundrels and knaves.

Of course, Jefferson was right. For as the nation grew so did the size of government. And the need for great big piles of money. Which the moneyed men provided. In exchange for special privileges. Patronage. Lucrative government contracts. Etc. Big piles of money flowed into Washington. And favors flowed out from Washington. With many a politician getting rich in the process of getting rich moneyed men richer. Politicians who used their position in government for personal gain. Corrupted politicians. As government + money = corruption. Which is why politicians always leave office richer than when they entered office.

Power + Corruption = Tyranny

This is how it started. As the size of government grew corruption grew. Just as Jefferson feared. All that money flowing into Washington corrupted ever more politicians. Who were not gentlemen of the Enlightenment. But the scoundrels and knaves Jefferson knew would come. Who used their position in government for personal gain. Whose corruption grew so great it exploded federal spending. So great that taxes from the moneyed men AND the middle class were unable to fund it. So the taxation grew more aggressive.

The government created by the Founding Fathers had no income taxes. They funded the few things the new national government did with tariffs for the most part. People lived from day to day without any fear of the taxman. The United States even did away with debtors’ prison. Prison where people were sent who could not pay their debts. A relic of the 19th century. Sort of. For there is one debt people can still go to prison for not paying. Past-due taxes. For the IRS can take everything you have and imprison you if you don’t pay your taxes. And those taxes have grown great as of late. As the tax code has grown convoluted. Requiring businesses to hire armies of accountants and lawyers to comply with. So the government can help the moneyed men who help the government. In return for special privileges, of course. Leaving the masses dreading April 15. As they dread opening any letter from the IRS.

If you want to know what it was like living under an absolute monarchy just think of the IRS. People fear the IRS. Just as people feared the arbitrary power of an absolute monarchy. A king could take your property and lock you away. Just like the IRS. And if you spoke out against the monarchy the king could make your life really unpleasant. Just like the IRS. During the 2012 election the IRS targeted conservative political groups to stifle their free speech. Delayed their tax-exempt status approval. And harassed them with costly tax audits. And now their tyranny has extended to people in the middle class. Who unbeknownst to them had a family member owe the federal government. Years earlier. Even a generation earlier. And the IRS is arbitrarily seizing the tax refunds from these debtors’ distant relatives to pay these debts. Even though they are in no way responsible for these debts. And the government has no documentation for this debt. Doesn’t matter. Because they have the power to do this. And these people are powerless to stop them. Just like people living under an absolute monarchy were powerless to stop their king from doing anything to them. And this is what Jefferson feared. For after corruption comes tyranny. For power + corruption = tyranny. (Just look at every tin-pot dictator that has oppressed his people). Which is why people fear the IRS. And the federal government the IRS is beholden to. Because they have become everything Jefferson feared they would.

Politics 101

“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” A quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Wendell Phillips. To name a few. John Philpot Curran may have said it first when he said, “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.”

This is why the Founding Fathers gave us the First Amendment. And freedom of the press. Which exercises that eternal vigilance. To safeguard democracy. By keeping government transparent. And making it difficult for government to hide things from the American people. Especially when those in power use their positions of power for self interest. Instead of the public’s interest.

So this is the free press as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Is it still that noble institution? Well, you be the judge. Recently Robert Gates just published a tell-all memoir putting the Obama administration in a very poor light. Saying things like Vice President Joe Biden has been wrong on every important foreign policy issue. That senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted against the surge in Iraq for political reasons. What was best for them. Not their country. And that as much as Candidate Obama said Iraq was the wrong war while Afghanistan was the right war he never believed in the war in Afghanistan. He didn’t have any interest in winning. Only in getting out. Big news. But now you don’t hear anything about it because someone in Chris Christie’s administration caused gridlock on the roads leading to the George Washington Bridge.

President Obama sacrificed the Americans in Benghazi for the sake of a Campaign Message

The George Washington Bridge scandal has gripped the media. It’s all they can talk about. Unlike those ‘phony scandals’ president Obama complained about that the Republicans were creating out of nothing. Like the ATF Fast and Furious scandal. Gunwalking to put thousands of weapons on the street. So the Obama administration could pick them up after they were used in a crime and say, “See? We need to pass new gun control legislation.” In Fast and Furious that meant new controls for multiple rifle sales or long guns. As explained in Demand Letter 3. One of these guns killed a U.S. border agent. And countless people in Mexico. But that was a phony scandal. Not a real one like the George Washington Bridge scandal.

The Solyndra scandal funneled money to a maker of solar arrays that was bleeding money. To delay the bankruptcy until after the 2010 midterm elections the Obama administration promised the largest private investor—and Obama donor—to restructure the loan. To put him above the taxpayers in any bankruptcy filing. In violation of Section 1702(d)(3) of Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Obama administration did. And the taxpayers’ ate the private investor’s loss. But that was a phony scandal. Not a real one like the George Washington Bridge scandal.

With the death of Osama bin Laden President Obama said al Qaeda was reeling. On the ropes. On the path to being no more. And he was going to ride this foreign policy achievement into the 2012 presidential election. Which is why when Ambassador Stevens requested additional security at the Benghazi mission the Obama administration denied his request. For how would it look if they were beefing up security in the country they just liberated when the threat from al Qaeda was receding? The problem was that al Qaeda was resurgent in Libya. It was so dangerous the British pulled out completely after an attack on their people. But President Obama sacrificed the Americans in Benghazi for the sake of a campaign message. And after four Americans died President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice blamed their deaths on a spontaneous protest that turned deadly due to an obscure anti-Muslim video no one had heard of in Benghazi. A spontaneous protest where people had rocket propelled grenades. And mortars that were pre-sighted on their targets. Things few people normally carry on them. The administration lied and they stonewalled Congress over Benghazi. Hiding the truth. Of how politics trumped the lives of four Americans. But that was a phony scandal. Not a real one like the George Washington Bridge scandal.

Our Free Press is NOT exercising that Eternal Vigilance that safeguards Democracy

CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson was one of the few in the media to investigate the Obama administration. Breaking stories on Fast and Furious. And Benghazi. Someone hacked into her computer in late 2012. Someone sophisticated who was searching for something on her computer. And knew how to cover their electronic tracks. Well, almost. The Obama Justice Department denied any involvement. But they did spy on reporters at the Associated Press. And Fox News journalist James Rosen. Attorney General Eric Holder even personally signed an affidavit naming him a potential criminal for doing his job. And then lied under oath when asked in Congress. Saying he didn’t get involved with the prosecution of journalists for doing their jobs. Even though he had. But these were phony scandals. Not a real one like the George Washington Bridge scandal.

And then there was the IRS scandal. Which targeted enemies of the Obama administration. Holding up tax-exempt status for Tea Party groups. Hindering their ability to fund raise and exercise their free speech during the 2012 presidential election. And conservative donors faced punitive IRS audits. Dissuading others from donating. Further hindering fund raising and free speech. The Obama administration said that those responsible were low-office holders in the Cincinnati office. But when the head of the tax exempt division, Lois Lerner, appeared before Congress she pleaded the Fifth Amendment. For the paper trail led to her. And possibly into the White House. For she was an active Democrat supporter. And wasn’t above breaking the law to help her party. Such as violating Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. Forbidding her to disclose income tax return information to anyone. Even another governmental agency. Which she did. And now we learn that the Justice Department lead investigator for the IRS scandal is a Democrat donor. But the IRS scandal was a phony scandal. Not a real one like the George Washington Bridge scandal.

Of all of these scandals which one are you most familiar with? Probably the George Washington Bridge scandal. Because our free press is NOT exercising that eternal vigilance that safeguards democracy. They have become an extension of the Democrat Party. Putting politics above the wellbeing of the people. Helping the Democrats to advance their agenda. While hiding their scandals. To destroy what the Founding Fathers gave us. Liberty. And expand one-party rule. Putting us on the road to servitude. Just as John Philpot Curran warned.

Fundamental Truth

Stores used the Incentives of Black Friday to get People to do what they Wanted

A belated happy Thanksgiving. And a belated happy Black Friday. We say belated because Black Friday was already here by the time Friday woke from its sleepy slumber. No more waiting in line Friday morning for those stores to open. No. Today if you snooze (i.e., spend Thanksgiving with the family at home) you lose. Because it’s first come first served. Which means if you wanted to get some of those deep discounts before they run out you didn’t let anything silly like celebrating Thanksgiving with the family get in your way.

Now everyone loves a bargain. It’s why we scan the Sunday sales papers. And search online for the best price. But in the Obama ‘recovery’ there isn’t a whole lot of spending going on. As there isn’t a whole lot of employment going on. Since President Obama assumed office his policies have destroyed some 10 million jobs. And one thing about unemployed people. They definitely want a bargain. Especially if they want a good Christmas for their family during the dark times of the Obama presidency.

But there is a greater lesson Black Friday can tell us other than President Obama is a bad president. Especially in things economic. Why are stores opening on Thanksgiving? Because they’re cruel and evil forcing their workers to slave away during a holiday? No. It’s not that. In fact, some employees love working on a holiday. For they get paid more working on a holiday than they normally would. Allowing them to earn extra money to give their families a good Christmas during the dark times of the Obama presidency. As it turns out shoppers and workers alike like Black Friday. For it allows each to have more for less. And that is the great lesson of Black Friday. Getting people to do what you want by offering them something they want. Or, in other words, offering them an incentive.

Slaves working in the planter South had no desire to be slaves. Yet they were slaves. Why? There weren’t slaves in the North. Only in the South. The blacks in the north chose not to be slaves. While those in the South had no choice. The planter elite in the South, the ‘Old World’ planter aristocracy, used force. And having a larger force in Washington than they normally would have (thanks to the Three-Fifths Compromise that counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation in Congress) they were able to use the force of government to continue to force blacks into slavery. The Southern Democrats (i.e., the ‘Old World’ planter aristocracy) were able to keep the black man enslaved until the mid 19th century. Even using the power of the federal government to override states’ rights in the North. Using the Fugitive Slave Act to force northern states to return fugitive slaves to their Southern Democrat owners. The ‘Old World’ planter aristocracy.

This is coercion. This is how you get people to do what they don’t want to do. Using the power of the federal government the Southern Democrats kept their slaves in bondage. Also, using the power of the federal government they forced those in the North who wanted to help ‘fugitive’ slaves to stay free return their slaves or else. That ‘or else’ being the full weight of the federal government coming down on them with extreme prejudice. But when the North became more populated control of the House of Representatives favored the larger populated North. Despite the Three-Fifths Compromise. Which left the Senate. And as each state got two senators how the new states entered the union mattered. For the planter elite to hold their power over the United States.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an early attempt to put slavery onto the path of oblivion. Those in the North did not want it. The planter elite in the South did. So they compromised. Slavery could remain in the South to appease the planter elite but the compromise prohibited slavery in the new Louisiana Territory that Thomas Jefferson purchased above the 36°30′ parallel (about the southern border of Missouri). Except in the state of Missouri. Then came the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 and the idea of popular sovereignty. Throwing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 out the window. These two states were both above the 36°30′ parallel. The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 said the first people into the fledging states could choose for themselves if they would be a slave-state or a free-state. Which led to a mad rush to Kansas. And a bloody civil war there. That eventually led to the American Civil War. To settle once and for all the issue of slavery in America. Would the Southern Democrats prevail and keep the black man in bondage? Or would the Republicans free the slaves?

Obamacare is less like Black Friday and more like Slavery

Even if you flunked your history class you should know the answer to this. Abraham Lincoln and his Republicans defeated the Southern Democrats and won the American Civil War. Freeing the slaves. Of course, the Southern Democrats were not good losers. They gave us the KKK. Then the Jim Crowe Laws. The separate but equal nonsense that didn’t exist in the Republican North. The old southern aristocracy were not huge fans of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. All they wanted was privilege. They wanted the Old World in the New World. And the planter elite fought bitterly to keep that. Well, not them as much as their fellow southerners they lied to about states’ rights. Getting them (most of who were too poor to own a single slave) to fight and sacrifice their lives to maintain the institution of slavery. To maintain the privilege of the southern aristocracy.

So there you have examples of incentive and coercion. Black Friday incentivized people to hire in for seasonal jobs during the holiday season. And brought people into stores with deep discounting. Everyone got something they wanted. And so they did what the store owners wanted. People worked for them on Thanksgiving. And people came into the stores on Thanksgiving. Both of their own free will. Now contrast that to slavery. Where there was no free will. Only the coercion of the federal government. Where fear and intimidation compelled slaves to remain slaves. And their only incentive was to obey their masters to avoid physical harm.

With the Supreme Court ruling the penalty of Obamacare became a tax. Allowing the federal government to compel people to buy health insurance or suffer the consequences. A ‘tax’ that will grow in time. Buy insurance or else. With that ‘or else’ being the full force and fury of the IRS. Something most people would find more unpleasant than a colonoscopy. Without any anesthetic. No, a letter from the IRS is something no one wants to see in their mail. For few things will fill you with fear and dread more. This is the enforcement mechanism of Obamacare. Which they need because people otherwise wouldn’t spend more for less. Higher insurance premiums to cover things they will never need (a gay man will never need prenatal care). And sky-high deductibles that will be like having no insurance. As everything will be out of pocket until you reach that sky-high deductible. Which few people will reach unless they have a catastrophic illness or accident. This is why people are NOT signing up for Obamacare. Because Obamacare ain’t no Black Friday. Obamacare is offering nothing the people want. At prices higher than they ever had to pay for health insurance before. Leaving them with less to spend on their family. Forcing them to cut out things they once enjoyed. Which is why Obamacare will fail. Because you can’t incentivize people to make their lives worse. No, to do that you need the fearful power of the state. Just like the Southern Democrats used to maintain the institution of slavery.

Politics 101

As far as Countries went in 1775 there were None Better than Great Britain

As late as 1775 the American colonists were still seeking reconciliation with Great Britain. For they were proud to be British. Citizens of the greatest empire in the world. The British Empire. Where there was representative government. The rule of law. Free market capitalism. And no taxation without representation. As far as countries went in 1775 there were none better.

The problem the colonists had wasn’t with the British Empire. Or their king. It was with the people who worked for the king. And Parliament. Who were denying them the rights every other British subject enjoyed in the greatest empire in the world. With things taking a turn for the worse with the Townshend Acts. The Tea Act. The Stamp Act. The Intolerable Acts (Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quartering Act and Quebec Act).

The colonists pleaded to King George. Who they affirmed their loyalty to. But expressed their frustration with the king’s representatives and Parliament. Their great incompetence. And corruption. Requesting relief from the king. Wishing the king would see things their way. And fix things. Maybe even fire some of his people who were responsible for causing all the trouble they found themselves in. But kings don’t fire people by request. For kings are very intolerant. Especially when their subjects dare to defy them. Which is why the colonists last attempt at reconciliation, the Olive Branch Petition, was met with scorn from King George. While the Americans were still debating whether to declare their independence King George saved them the trouble. And declared that they were in open rebellion. Hired Hessian mercenaries. And waged war on his own subjects.

Nixon did not order nor was he aware of the Watergate Break-in but faced Impeachment over the Cover-up

Andy Reid is the most successful coach in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. Or, was. For after going 4-12 in the 2012 season they fired him. Because the team owner thought he was doing a poor job. A fate many other head coaches face when they don’t deliver a winning season. If they aren’t great in their job that’s it. Owners fire them. And start looking for someone who will be great. For the owners have a large investment in their teams. Money they won’t get back if people stop buying tickets. Which they will do if they don’t start winning games.

Jacques Nasser was CEO of the Ford Motor Company from 1998 to 2001. When he took office Ford was the most profitable of all automakers. During his tenure he tried to change Ford. To make it even more profitable. And make Ford more than just a car company. Sort of what Jack Welch was doing over at GE. He acquired some other auto companies. Dabbled in ecommerce. And other auto businesses down the food chain from new car sales. Including repair shops. And even junkyards. While he was doing all of this Firestone tires were disintegrating on the Ford Explorer. Suffice it to say that Ford wasn’t as strong financially as it was when Nasser became CEO. And when you do that there is but one thing to do. Submit your resignation. Which he did.

On June 17, 1972, a security guard caught five ‘burglars’ inside the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Complex. One of the reasons they were there was to place illegal listening devices. To hear things that would help President Nixon’s reelection chances. Nixon did not order this nor was he aware of it. But names on the burglars led to the White House Plumbers. Whose job was to stop security leaks. Something the president did not want made public. Which led to President Nixon’s involvement as he ordered the cover-up. A crime so heinous he ultimately had to resign to avoid impeachment.

History shows President Nixon and King George were better Heads of State than President Obama

Scandals have plagued the Obama administration. Fast and Furious (sending guns to Mexico so they could be ‘found’ after they were used in gun crimes to advance the gun control agenda). Benghazi (ignoring the security risk in Benghazi and then blaming the murder of 4 Americans by terrorists on a YouTube video to help the president’s reelection chances). Monitoring phone calls and emails of the Associated Press and Fox’s James Rosen (trying to find the source of security leaks like Nixon’s White House Plumbers). IRS-gate (using the IRS to target political enemies of the Obama administration to suppress the opposition vote, especially the Tea Party). And Obamacare.

The president said if you like your insurance you can keep your insurance. If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Statements that weren’t true. As they specifically wrote the new health care law to make sure we would lose our policies and lose our doctors. Because we had to. For if they didn’t get these people (the young and healthy with inexpensive ‘crappy’ policies) into their health exchanges Obamacare would be underfunded. And if these people don’t pay for the old and sick who would? Besides, the ultimate goal of Obamacare is to get America to a single-payer system. What the people don’t want. So the Affordable Care Act has to destroy the private health insurance industry first to force single-payer on the people. Which will be easier to do when they have no other alternative.

Watergate forced a president to resign and sent some 43 people to jail. All because of the cover-up. Which was worse than the crime. The Obama administration scandals are all worse than a bungled burglary. And some of the cover-ups have been whoppers of a lie (such as the Benghazi YouTube video). Yet no one was fired. No one resigned. Not even with the debacle of the Obamacare rollout. (Such a failure would result in firings/resignations in the private sector.) Any requests for such actions are met with scorn by the Obama administration. Just like King George did with the American colonists. For President Obama acts like an imperial president. Who will lie and deceive to get what he wants (e.g., Obamacare, reelection, etc.). For he knows what’s best for us. Gets annoyed when we don’t see his wisdom. And fumes with rage when his subjects dare defy him. So President Obama shares some of the worst of President Nixon and King George. But, sadly, he shares none of their greatness. For history shows that they were both better heads of state than President Obama. And that’s with all of their faults.

Week in Review

The Obamacare website got off to a less than illustrious start. That is, it failed to work. The Obama administration said the website failed because it was overwhelmed by so many people wanting to log on at the same time to get them some Obamacare. But people who actually know how to design websites said it wasn’t a capacity problem. The problem is something common whenever the government tries to do anything. They just did a poor job designing the Obamacare website (see Obamacare architecture flawed: Experts by Reuters posted 10/6/2013 on The Times of India).

Days after the launch of the federal government’s Obamacare website, millions of Americans looking for information on new health insurance plans were still locked out of the system even though its designers scrambled to add capacity.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversaw development of the site, declined to make any of its IT experts available for interviews. CGI Group Inc, the Canadian contractor that built HealthCare.gov, is “declining to comment at this time,” said spokeswoman Linda Odorisio.

Five outside technology experts interviewed by Reuters, however, say they believe flaws in system architecture, not traffic alone, contributed to the problems.

For instance, when a user tries to create an account on HealthCare.gov, which serves insurance exchanges in 36 states, it prompts the computer to load an unusually large amount of files and software, overwhelming the browser, experts said.

If they are right, then just bringing more servers online, as officials say they are doing, will not fix the site…

One possible cause of the problems is that hitting “apply” on HealthCare.gov causes 92 separate files, plug-ins and other mammoth swarms of data to stream between the user’s computer and the servers powering the government website, said Matthew Hancock, an independent expert in website design. He was able to track the files being requested through a feature in the Firefox browser…

[Matthew Hancock, an independent expert in website design,] said because so much traffic was going back and forth between the users’ computers and the server hosting the government website, it was as if the system was attacking itself.

Hancock described the situation as similar to what happens when hackers conduct a distributed denial of service, or DDOS, attack on a website: they get large numbers of computers to simultaneously request information from the server that runs a website, overwhelming it and causing it to crash or otherwise stumble. “The site basically DDOS’d itself,” he said.

Did you catch that? President Obama and the Democrats have lambasted corporations for outsourcing American jobs. Called them a whole bunch of nasty names. Unpatriotic. Greedy. You name it. And yet here they are. Outsourcing the design of the Obamacare website. So I guess the Obama administration is unpatriotic, greedy, etc.

Those “92 separate files, plug-ins and other mammoth swarms of data to stream between the user’s computer and the servers powering the government website” does not fill one with a lot of confidence that our private and personal data they’re collecting will be secure. Complicated systems are more subject to breaking down. And getting hacked.

If these people who actually know how to design websites are right that means the Obama administration lied to us about what was wrong with the Obamacare website. Of course, president Obama said if we liked our health insurance plan and our doctor we could keep them. Which were lies. It seems like the Obama administration has a habit of lying to the American people to get what they want against our will.

Not only that they sic the IRS on their political enemies. As well as using the IRS to suppress voter turnout on the right. By making it harder for Tea Party groups to be politically active like they were in the 2010 mid-term election. Who rose up in opposition to Obamacare. Had the Obama administration not use the full weight of their powers to suppress the Tea Party during the 2012 election President Obama would not have won reelection. And Obamacare may have already been repealed by this time. For it was conservatives that sat home and didn’t vote for Romney. Because the Tea Party wasn’t active like in the previous election to motivate them. Or they were intimidated by the left and were afraid of the IRS. Further reasons to fear the data mining of the Obamacare website. Which the IRS will have access to.

Perhaps we should be grateful that they designed the Obamacare website poorly. For it will let us keep our personal and private information secure for a little longer.

President Obama’s policies are doing a number on income for restaurant workers. First, Obamacare’s employer mandates led major restaurant chains to cut server hours. Now, the Internal Revenue Service has proposed a new rule to collect more tax money from servers.

The IRS, beginning in 2014, will require restaurants to withhold the automatic gratuity added to large checks, rather than allow servers to take the tip money home with them each night…

The new rule could lead restaurants to stop mandating the tips for large groups.

Rarely are restaurant servers lumped in with that greedy 1%. Those greedy rich people. But here they are. Being treated as greedy one-percenters who don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

Interesting that the same people who support an increase in the minimum wage and expressed solidarity for the fast-food and Wal-Mart workers recently on strike want to take away a server’s tips. People who actually earn below the minimum wage and depend on their tips to earn a living wage.

This is yet another example of the true cost of the welfare state. Why we can’t keep increasing government spending. And increasing the debt to pay for it. Because someone has to pay the taxes that pays for this spending. Or pay the taxes that pay for the interest on the debt that pays for this spending. And guess what? The rich 1% isn’t rich enough to pay it all. Even if we taxed them at 100%. So the IRS is going to shake down single mothers struggling to support their children by withholding their tips. And after that they will tell these single mothers’ children that there is no such thing as Santa Clause. Just to be mean. For it appears they enjoy being mean.

Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship surged sixfold in the second quarter from a year earlier as the government prepares to introduce tougher asset-disclosure rules.

Expatriates giving up their nationality at U.S. embassies climbed to 1,131 in the three months through June from 189 in the year-earlier period, according to Federal Register figures published today. That brought the first-half total to 1,810 compared with 235 for the whole of 2008.

The U.S., the only nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside, is searching for tax cheats in offshore centers, including Switzerland, as the government tries to curb the budget deficit. Shunned by Swiss and German banks and facing tougher asset-disclosure rules under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more of the estimated 6 million Americans living overseas are weighing the cost of holding a U.S. passport.

Just to clarify what this means, these are people who no longer live in the United States. They earn their money outside of the United States. And they pay taxes to the countries they live in on the income they earn while living there. But they still hold onto their U.S. citizenship. In case they want to return to the United States one day. Where they may resume earning income there. And paying taxes there.

Taxes are supposed to pay for the cost of government that is providing for you. The military that protects the United States. Social Security. Etc. Things these expatriates may in all likelihood never use. True, they may benefit from the U.S. military keeping the peace in the world. But no more than the people living in these other countries. So this is not about financing the cost of benefits they are consuming. It’s all about funding out of control government spending that they do not benefit from in the least. Green energy subsidies. The Obama stimulus. Obamacare. Food stamps. And other federal assistance programs. Benefits that are in most cases an ocean away from these people. Yet the U.S. government wants to track these people down. And make them pay taxes for stuff they’ll never use. Unlike every other nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The additional compliance costs for companies to ensure that Americans they hire are filing the correct U.S. tax returns and asset-declaration forms are at least $5,000 per person, said Ledvina.

For individuals, the costs are also rising. Getting a mortgage or acquiring life insurance is becoming almost impossible for American citizens living overseas, Ledvina said.

“With increased U.S. tax reporting, U.S. accounting costs alone are around $2,000 per year for a U.S. citizen residing abroad,” the tax lawyer said. “Adding factors, such as difficulty in finding a bank to accept a U.S. citizen as a client, it is difficult to justify keeping the U.S. citizenship for those who reside permanently abroad.”

So these people are not giving up their U.S. citizenship because they are greedy. They’re doing it because it is too difficult and too costly for them and their employer if they hold onto their U.S. citizenship. Of course, once they give up their citizenship the government loses all access to their money. So what’s next? Preventing people from ever leaving the United States? Turning the U.S. into a police state? Or would it be simpler just for the government to stop spending so much?

I think most people would prefer a government that spends less than living in a police state.

Week in Review

As Obamacare moves closer to full implementation the mass of personal data the government will collect on us is concerning many. Our medical files will have everything from our Social Security numbers to comments that we may drink too much. But what harm can come from government having a wealth of private information about us? It’s not like anyone has ever hacked into a government computer (the Chinese). Or a branch of government ever violated our Constitutional rights (the IRS). So really, now, how could a government-run health care system tracking our personal data harm us (see Chef told he’s too fat to live in New Zealand posted 7/27/2013 on CBC News)?

A South African chef has been told by authorities in New Zealand that’s he’s too fat to be permitted to live in the country…

…immigration officials told him he did not have “an acceptable standard of health” and his work visa would not be renewed, Fairfax NZ News reported.

At 5’8″ tall, Albert Buitenhuis has a body mass index of more than 40, which lands him in the medically obese territory.

An immigration spokesman said all applicants with a body mass index of more than 35 are investigated.

The spokesman said the chef had been rejected because his obesity put him at “significant risk” of health complications such as heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and hypertension.

He added that the department’s medical assessors have to consider to “what extent there might be indications of future high-cost and high-need demand for health services…”

New Zealand has the third highest obesity rate among developed countries, behind the United States and Mexico, according to a 2012 report released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Interesting. Obamacare may track our weight to determine how much to charge us for our Obamacare premium. But they are doing nothing to secure our border. Allowing God knows how many obese Mexicans into the country. Who are as obese as we are. And are at risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and hypertension. Requiring more costly Obamacare resources. So they will punish us for our obesity. But not the Mexicans entering the country illegally. For they are sacrosanct. We can’t even ask them for an ID when they try to vote. But you know that you and I will have to pay an obesity tax under Obamacare.

New Zealand has a mixed health care system. It was once a national system. But they have since mixed in a few private sector elements. To control the out-of-control costs of national health care. And because the government is footing a portion of the health care bill the government can do pretty much whatever they want when it comes to any health care issue. In this case immigration is a health care issue. Because immigrants are people. And people eventually require health care.

This is the frightening part about Obamacare. Because it lets the government punish our behavior if they choose. Or our thoughts. Overweight? That’ll cost you. Especially if you’re an enemy of the state. Like those Tea Party groups harassed by the IRS. Something that couldn’t happen if we kept our health care in the private sector.

Week in Review

President Obama has delayed the employer mandate of Obamacare. As there was so much confusion in implementing Obamacare that despite having 3 years to put this massive bureaucracy into motion the government is still not ready. Or it could be because of the immense unpopularity of the program that they want to push back some of the more unpleasant parts of it to after the 2014 midterm elections. So Democrats up for reelection don’t have to face an angry electorate while campaigning. Like so many did in the 2010 midterm elections. And lost.

The Obama administration is beefing up the IRS to enforce Obamacare. Expanding their reach into our private lives. And into our medical records. To see who qualifies for a subsidy. And who is not paying their fair share. Who, when identified, they will descend upon them with all the joy and pleasure of an IRS rectal exam. I mean, audit.

The real scary part of all this is that the agency now responsible for our very health is the one that recently persecuted some Americans for their political beliefs. The vast majority of the policy-makers at the IRS donated to President Obama’s reelection campaign. Which makes the persecution of Tea Party groups and their donors the more frightening. For where will it end? This abuse of federal power (see Patient awoke to doctors mistakenly preparing to remove her organs by Eric Pfeiffer posted 7/9/2013 on Yahoo! News)?

The Post-Standard reports that in October 2009, Colleen S. Burns was taken to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital Center, suffering from a drug overdose. Although a nurse told doctors that Burns was recovering from her overdose, those same doctors pronounced her dead.

A call was placed to her family informing them that Burns had passed away, and the family subsequently agreed to have her removed from life support and gave the hospital clearance to harvest her organs.

But Burns was not dead. In fact, a number of signs clearly pointed to her being alive. When a nurse performed a mandatory reflex test on Burns, her toes curled downward. She appeared to be breathing independently of a hospital respirator, and her lips and tongue were said to have moved moments before doctors prepared to remove her organs.

Nonetheless, the nurse then followed instructions to give Burns a powerful sedative, a seemingly unnecessary move if the patient were actually dead.

Thankfully, Burns awoke moments before doctors were going to cut her open to remove the organs from her presumed-dead body.

Imagine the future world of Obamacare. With an expanded IRS acting like the secret police. And a state official at each hospital responsible for the enforcement of Obamacare policies. Big Brother, if you will. Making sure everyone is Obamacare obedient. And reporting back to their superiors in Washington of problem personnel. This official having direct access to the standardized digital medical records of every patient. Now imagine a patient near death who is either a political enemy of the state. Like the Tea Party and their donors were to the IRS. Or someone that their Obamacare computer programming flags as a potential match to someone in the inner party in need of an organ transplant. And they unexpectedly take a turn for the worse and die.

That will never happen, some will say. Those who believe government is an instrument of good. And maybe this scenario will never happen. But it could happen. That’s the scary part. Because the pieces are all there now. All it will take is someone to make it happen.

In the movie V for VendettaV said, “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” The United States became a nation based on that principle. The U.S. Constitution enshrines that principle. But things have changed since the Founding. And people are now afraid of their government. And the IRS. Just ask those Tea Party groups. And their donors. They can tell you a thing or two about abuses of federal power. And now these people are going to be in charge of our health care. Where they can do anything they want to us. Force us to pay a higher premium. Make us wait a longer time for treatment. Even deny us treatment. Giving us a pill to take instead to manage our pain until we die. Or they could even hasten our deaths. To cut costs. And to, perhaps, harvest our organs. For someone more important in the inner party. All it will take is someone to make it happen. Just as someone chose to make that IRS persecution of political enemies happen.